Getsatisfaction is a community based website that is based on representatives of companies and consumers coming together in a constructive Internet space to share ideas and problems. It seems limited in company participation at this time, but has the potential to be quite powerful to give consumers a voice.
Is Getsatisfaction worth our time?
Once registered on Getsatisfaction it is very easy to find company profiles. A search is available and looks for companies as you type. Companies with recent activity are on top of the list of the company page. Key message here: keep posting on your company’s page to have it stay at the top.
There are about 1,170 companies are on Getsatisfaction, but only about 350 of these use the website regularly. One thing that bothers me about the company page is that there is no description of the company under their name. This keeps me guessing about what they do if I don’t know the company, which I think is a mistake.
Topics are well organized with icons: problem, discussion, idea or question. You can give a thread more attention by clicking on “I have this problem too,” or “I like this idea.” It’s a neat little hidden ‘poll’ option along with written responses. Companies can monitor Twitter messages and start topics directly from them, which is also nice and dynamic.
If used properly, companies do not even need their own support sites for their users, making it perfect for any company to have a communication edge. Getsatisfaction is perfect for levelling the playing field for small or independent businesses that do not have access to or the finances to support a dedicated support and communication conduit.
